


You & me against the world

by destinychild



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Betrayal, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Competition, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, High School, Lesbian Character, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:02:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27529654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinychild/pseuds/destinychild
Summary: Clarke had an epic senior year planned out. She would have a blast with her friends and boyfriend, all while keeping trying to earn a scholarship to her dream school. When a competitive Lexa is aiming for the exact same prize, how will she balance feelings with duty?orClarke and Lexa compete for a single scholarship
Relationships: Anya & Lexa (The 100), Bellamy Blake & Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Costia/Lexa (The 100), Finn Collins/Clarke Griffin, Octavia Blake & Clarke Griffin, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 24
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> This is my first fanfic ever, and I'm really excited about the story. So hopefully you'll give it a shot!
> 
> Also I'd really appreciate any feedback down in the comments. Whatever you feel will help me improve my writing :)
> 
> That's it for now, thanks for reading!

“Dude come on, we’re going to be late” hollered a frustrated Raven up at her friend’s bedroom window. 

“For the hundredth time, I’m coming!” Answered back Clarke, as she hopped on one foot trying to get her black high-top converse on the other.

Clarke took one last look in the mirror, pleased with the way her wavy blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders and the light cyan v-neck t-shirt brought out the blue in her eyes.

She ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she helped herself to a piece of toast and offered her mom a quick goodbye.

“Bye mom”

“Bye Clarke, have a wonderful first day” as she leaned down to kiss her daughters cheek. She had been making an effort to be there for her, especially after her husbands death.

"thanks, gotta go Ravens waiting" and with that the blonde ran out the door. Abby sighed and watched her leave.

***

Raven Reyes waited outside, leaning heavily on her yellow Jeep Wrangler and pretending to be asleep. She wore a fitted black tank top over black skinny jeans tucked into classic Doc Martens, her chocolate colored hair tied up in a high ponytail.

Clarke matched up to her friend and playfully swatted at her arm.

“OWWW what was that for?!” The brunette exclaimed, while exaggeratedly rubbing her arm where her friend had hit her.

Clarke smiled, showing a set of perfectly straight white teeth, amusement dancing in her eyes. “Stop acting like a child and get in the car and drive, O’s waiting”

Raven rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Please, like she’s not making out with Lincoln in a corner somewhere”

The blonde groaned comically. “Ugh those two have the worst case of PDA, it makes me want to puke”

Raven laughed, it was a pleasant, almost musical sound. “Okay grinch let’s go!”

Both girls hopped in the car and buckled their seat belts. Raven put the windows down and blasted Taylor Swift's “shake it off” on the speakers as they sped down the street, singing their lungs out.

***

They rolled into the school parking lot, which was almost full, and thankfully found a spot beneath a tree. Kids everywhere were chatting and greeting their friends, an air of excitement around them as they walked towards the building for their first day.

Clarke and Raven spotted Octavia on the steps to the door. She was glancing at the crowds as if looking for someone, when her gaze fell over them she gave them a wide smile, jumped off the steps and ran towards her friends.

“WE’RE BACK BITCHES!!!” She threw her arms up in the air and exaggeratedly looked up at the sky.

Her friends laughed and the three of them shared a tight group hug. they pulled away, still holding hands, and looked at one another. “We’re back for one last time” Clarke felt an unexpected pang of nostalgia, as if they were leaving already.

Raven, though feeling moved herself, retorted “Don’t get all emotional on me, Griffin, we’re here to secure our legacy”

“Besides” shyly quipped Octavia “we’ll always be friends, no matter how far apart we are from each other”

“Not you too O!! Come on guys, we’re seniors, we have the whole year ahead of us, it’ll be unforgettable!” 

Clarke let go of her friends hands, feeling a sudden surge of energy. “Ravens right! Let’s go make the most of it” and she started towards the school building with determination, her friends shared an amused glance and followed.

***

The three friends raucously walked down the hall. They reached their lockers, which they had arranged for to be together since the year before, and started putting their stuff in while chatting animatedly.

“Hi girls I’m here, your lives just got better” though it was meant as a joke, the voice was seeping pretentiousness.

Clarke turned to see her boyfriend Finn confidently leaning his stocky frame against the locker beside her, and offered her a smooth grin. Finn was very handsome, in the male model bay-boy kind of way. With his floppy brown hair and winning smile, he could make any girl swoon ,and he well knew it. She wasn’t sure why out of all the pretty girls in school he’d picked her, but he had, and she knew she should feel lucky. 

So when one year prior he’d asked her out, Clarke couldn’t refuse him. She liked him well enough, and couldn’t let the opportunity to date the school heartthrob pass her by; plus she’d never had a boyfriend and was curious as to how it worked.

She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. He smelled of Calvin Klein cologne, she liked that smell, it felt like comfort. “Do you always have to act so full of yourself?”

“You tell him Clarke!” Raven said, stepping beside her blonde friend and crossing her arms.

Finn turned his gaze to Raven with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hey Reyes” he greeted, then turned back to Clarke “you know how I am, princess, I know you love it”

Clarke gave him a tight smile and looked over his shoulder, where she noticed a group of kids led by none other than Lexa Woods.

Lexa was undoubtedly the prettiest and most popular girl in school; not because she was extremely outgoing, which she wasn’t, but because of the powerful way she carried herself, as if nobody could get to her. She inspired fear and admiration from her classmates.

Aside from that, her beauty was unquestionable. She had perfectly smooth tan skin and long curly brown hair. She was slim and muscular, clearly a product of her affinity for athletics; but the most stunning part of her was her face. She had a deep set of prominent green eyes, balanced out by high cheekbones ,full lips, and an elegant nose. The girl could be a model if she wanted to.

Finn turned to look at whatever his girlfriend was gawking at and watched as the group walked past them.

“Ah yes, the queen bee and her cronies, always trying to attract attention” frowned Octavia, her remark filled with contempt.

A confused Finn squinted at her. “Aren’t you dating one of them?”

“Well yeah, but Lincoln isn’t like them, he doesn’t think he’s above everything and everyone”

Clarke snapped out of her daze and tuned back into the conversation.

Raven conspicuously cleared her throat “reminds me of _someone_ we know” and she glanced at Finn.

“Do you have a problem with me Reyes?!” The boy was clearly fazed at having someone resist his charm.

“yeah I do, I just don’t like pretentious assholes stinking up my personal space with cheap cologne”

He frowned and opened his mouth to respond when he was cut off.

“Okay guys enough!! Please be civil and keep your comments to yourselves” Clarke didn’t know whether to defend her best friend or her boyfriend so she just reprimanded both.

“Fine, I gotta get to class anyway, just stay away from me Reyes”

“no problem there”

Finn rolled his eyes, ruffled his hair and sauntered away without saying goodbye.

Clarke turned to her friend “dude please back off okay, I know he gets on your nerves but all this bickering is becoming exhausting”.

The Latina huffed “it’s not my fault your boyfriend is such a douche”. When she received a blood-curdling stare from Clarke, she quickly replied “fine I’ll try to tolerate him”.

“Good. Now come on guys, we’ll be late for first period”

She shut her locker door and followed by her friends, headed for her classroom. Clarke was excited about this year and wasn’t going to let it be ruined by unnecessary drama. This was going to be a year to remember.


	2. Chapter 2

The first three periods came and went and before she knew it, Clarke was heading to the cafeteria to meet her friends for lunch. She located their usual lunch table, where Raven, Octavia, Miller, and Bellamy had already taken their seats.

Bellamy saw her and waved her over “hey Griffin, come on over and save me from these lunatics”  
Clarke contentedly smiled at him and walked over “what are we talking about guys?”

“Apparently Raven here thinks you’re supposed to dip fries in ice cream” a full mouthed Octavia replied.  
Their dark skinned friend Miller scooted over so that Clarke could sit. “And she’s getting all worked up because no one agrees with her”

Raven had her arms crossed and was slouching in her seat, clearly unhappy that the whole group was hanging up on her. “You guys just have no taste” she angrily mumbled.  
Octavia leaned in the table “speaking of bad taste” she glanced around to make sure no one was listening in “did you guys hear that Costia and Lexa broke up?”  
Ravens' bad mood suddenly vanished, she loved gossip. “I did! Apparently they had a huge fight and Costia left to finish high school in Spain, couldn’t take being with Woods anymore”

“I heard she cheated on Lexa” Miller chimed in “hard to believe cause look at her, she’s a goddess, but from what I knew they had the most toxic of relationships”  
“Well she is pretty but who could stand her with such a stuck up personality” said Octavia “which reminds me, Clarke, where’s the boyfriend?”

“Ugh I asked him to come but he preferred to eat with his fuckboy buddies” the blonde was unable to hide her irritation,

Bellamy perked up “so things aren’t good between the two of you?” He asked, a little too hopefully.

“They’re fine, I guess”

But Clarke wasn’t sure that they were. Her relationship with Finn was strange. It wasn’t passionate, at least not on her side. She was fond of him, sure, but she couldn’t honestly say that she loved him. He was a jealous and impulsive boy, yet she stayed with him because it was comfortable. He was all she knew so she tolerated his antics and he offered her safety in return.  
Safety from what she would admit to no one, not even herself.

She looked up to see her friends pitiful stares, and suddenly felt like she had to leave. “ whoops! Looks like I forgot to get some food, I’ll be right back”.  
She hastily got up from her seat and walked towards the lunch bar.

Clarke wondered why it bothered her so much whenever her friends asked about Finn, and why she got so defensive about their relationship, like she had something to prove.  
She received her tray with bland looking mashed potatoes and carrot sticks. She was so lost in thought that she failed to notice someone was standing beside her.  
Too late, she swerved, but her lunch found itself plastered across the other girl's chest. Clarke dropped the empty tray and gasped, looking up to furious green eyes, her heart skipped a beat, she had crashed right into Lexa Woods.

“Oh my god I am so so sorry” Clarke grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe the food off the brunette’s chest, a red flush furiously creeping up her face.  
It seemed to take Lexa a second to recover from the initial shock, and when she did she let out an exasperated huff “You know what it’s fine” she not-so-gently pushed the blonde away “it’s fine, just get away from me”  
Clarke took a step back and mumbled an apology as Lexa furiously turned on her heels and stormed off, leaving an abashed Clarke standing over the spilled food, refusing to look up at the crowd of bystanders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I know this was a very short chapter, chapter 3 will be up soon though so bear with me ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Lexa was having the worst day ever. 

It hadn’t started out that way, in fact, she had woken up feeling quite hopeful.

It was a new year, her and Costia would get a fresh start; everything that happened in the past would be left behind.

She’s gotten up, taken a cold shower and gotten dressed. She chose a black tennis skirt with a white open-shoulder blouse on top. She knew she looked good, it’s how she planned it. She wanted to walk into school with Costia and show the world what a powerful couple they were. Especially after that god-awful cheating scandal.

To be fair, Costia had cheated; three months before with some random girl at a party. Yet Lexa had chosen to forgive her. She wanted to think it was because she loved Costia, but deep down she knew she was just afraid of being alone. 

Her feelings weren’t unwarranted though. They had been a couple on and off for three years; Costia had been there during her mother’s death, her sister leaving home, her fathers constant pressure. And Lexa wasn’t willing to give that support up.

So when she walked downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast, she barely even registered her father demanding her to improve her grades (as if she wasn’t already top of her class), her mother’s absence which sometimes still sent a pang of grief through her chest, or the tension that hung in the air ever since Anya had unexpectedly left home earlier that year. 

She hummed in anticipation throughout her meal and left her father astounded and annoyed at her chipper mood.

When she arrived at school she was immediately swarmed by her friends; she greeted them and answered their usual questions: _how was your summer, Lexa? What’d you do, Lexa? Did you miss me Lexa?_ She felt like a celebrity being pestered by the paparazzi. It’s not that she didn’t love Echo and Emori, it just irritated her that they held her on a pedestal, making her feel pressured to meet their impossible standards.

She put on her cool demeanor, as she was so used to doing by now and smoothly answered all their questions; yet there was one that threw her off  
“So Lexa, where’s Costia?” Shit. She didn’t know. Costia had taken a trip to Spain over the summer, and in all her excitement Lexa had forgotten to text her girlfriend and arrange their meeting.

She took out her phone and quickly dialed Costia, anxiously tapping her foot against the pavement, her friends seemed to suddenly become mute, staring at her like you would an orangutan at the zoo.

Come on… she willed Costia to answer the phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Great. She turned to her friends “I’m sure she’s fine, she must be running late or something” she put her phone in her bag “let’s just get to class, she’ll probably meet us there”

Lexa noticed uncertainty flash through her friends eyes, which made her feel doubtful, but decided not to comment on it.

***

By the second period, Lexa was a nervous wreck. Where the hell was Costia. She excused herself from history class, or was it math? She didn’t know but she needed to get out of there.  
She walked out and immediately took out her phone and dialed her girlfriend .  
It rang once. Lexa glanced around the hall. Twice. She thrummed her fingers against a locker. Three times. She was so impatient she wanted to cry.  
“Hello?”  
Lexa let out a long sigh of relief.  
“Cos hey!!! I was waiting for you, where are you?!? I was worried sick, I think we have a couple of classes together, should I save you a seat? How was your flight?” The questions came tumbling out of her mouth.  
“Ummm...yeah about that…” The line went silent for a few seconds “I’m not going back”  
Lexa’s heart dropped.  
“what the hell do you mean you’re not coming back?!”  
“I mean, I’m not going back, I’m staying here in Madrid to finish high school”  
Lexa stood there, dumbfounded, all she could hear was her heart pounding against her chest.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before… it was kind of a last minute decision, I think it’s for the best though…”  
“For the BEST?! Why didn’t you tell me?!” Lexa’s voice cracked and tears were threatening to fall “...what about us?” She could barely choke those last words out.

“... I don’t think there is an us anymore Lexa, there hasn’t been for some time now, not after the whole… you know… cheating thing”

Lexa was this close to blowing a fuse. “Need I remind you that YOU cheated on ME, not the other way around, yet I chose to forgive you, so why the hell are you doing this!?”  
“I know Lex, believe me I KNOW. I’ll never forgive myself for doing that to you; and you said you forgave me, but you didn’t and things were never the same, they probably never will be, I’m letting you go”

Lexa was seething, tears were now streaming down her cheeks, she wanted to scream, she wanted to curse Costia and everything around her, she wanted to beg her to come back, she wanted her to know that she didn’t want to be alone.  
Instead she forced herself to calm down, wiped her tears, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again it was a completely different girl, her face was stoic calm; she had put her wall up.  
“Okay that’s it then, don’t contact me, I never want to see or hear from you again”

“Lex wait, I still lo-“

Lexa hung up.

***

By third period, everyone had heard what happened, or at least there were different versions going around. Lexa had no idea how people found out, but it seemed like wherever she went they were watching her, pitying her, she hated it.

As she entered the cafeteria, she headed straight for the lunch bar. She usually brought her own, didn’t want to risk her health by eating whatever mystery food they served, but today in her rush to get out of her house she’d forgotten to prepare something. 

Head held high, she cut through the line knowing none of her classmates would confront her about it. She didn’t like to take advantage of her position within the school’s social hierarchy, but today it was simply unavoidable.  
When she looked down to the barely-edible looking meal options she felt something _someone _crash into her.__

____

____

Lexa heard a tray fall to the floor and looked down on her chest to find warm mashed potatoes, or whatever that was, smeared messily all across her chest. She was absolutely livid, her breath was ragged, her fury almost uncontainable.  
She looked up to see who was responsible for this fiasco, and her gaze was met with a pair of brilliant azure blue eyes. Her lips parted as if to say something but nothing came out, and for a split second, Lexa was rendered absolutely speechless.  
As she stared into those eyes it felt like she was standing in the eye of the hurricane, everything around her calm, mute; until the storm caught up to her, in the form of the sadness, frustration, and especially anger she’d experienced up to that moment.  
And so, as the other girl tried to wipe her lunch off of Lexa, the brunette couldn’t take it anymore. She shoved the other girl and snapped something along the lines of staying away from her.  
Lexa felt herself go red, and her eyes burn with tears, she turned away from the girl so she wouldn’t see them, and walked as quickly as she could without embarrassing herself. She was well aware of the crowd that had gathered, their judging stares boring into her, and she wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.

***

That’s how Lexa found herself crying her heart out in a filthy girls bathroom stall on the first day of school. Who knew the almighty Lexa Woods would be in that situation. What had she done to deserve all this? She contemplated the mess that was her life. The love of her life, gone. Her mother, dead. Her family, dismantled. Her friends, oblivious. Her heart, shattered.  
She realized that the one good thing she had going for herself was her perfect academic curriculum, which would eventually lead her to getting out of that shithole once and for all, and she decided then and there not to let anyone get in the way of that.

She walked out of her stall, turned the faucet stone and splashed cold water on her face. When she felt calmer she looked at herself in the mirror. You are Lexa Woods, and no one will get in the way of what you want. And she stared at herself as water dripped from her chin until it all dried up. She watched as a familiar harshness appeared in her eyes. Her wall had gone up again, and this time it would not come back down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry for my tardiness, I've been really busy with school (It's my first semester in college). Thankfully, I just started winter break so ill be posting a lot more frequently in the following weeks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Feel free to leave any feedback you think might be helpful. :)

Fitful laughter drifted from Clarke’s room. The sound of a group of happy, and a bit drunk teenagers having a good time.

Bellamy, Raven, Octavia, Miller, Harper, and Jasper all sat in a circle around an empty Bud Light bottle, excitedly watching it spin until it landed on its next victim.

Octavia whooped and threw her hands in the air. “Yes!” She gave a maniacal laugh “Harper, truth… or dare” and she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Clarke, who was sitting on the bed watching the action but not actually participating, chuckled and half-heartedly rolled her eyes. Octavia definitely enjoyed this game way too much.

“Hey Griffin, why don’t you come down and play!” Harper quipped, trying to get Octavia's attention away from her and succeeding in doing so.

“Yeah Clarke!” Octavia turned so quickly Clarke feared her neck might just snap “why don’t you”.

Clarke raised her eyebrows “I have a boyfriend, remember?”

Octavia frowned “yeah well so do I and that doesn’t mean I miss out on the fun, you don’t have to _kiss_ anyone” she glanced around her friends who were giggling among themselves “you can just pick truth” she grinned devilishly “besides you can make ridiculous requests and have these doofuses do your bidding”

That earned a genuine laugh from Clarke as she shook her head. “Sorry O it’s just not happening, I’ll watch”

“Party pooper” mumbled Octavia forlorn. She quickly forgot though and returned to the game. She pointed a finger mischievously at Harper and singsonged “don’t think for a second that I forgot about you Harp”. Harper groaned and covered her face while the rest of the group laughed, “truth or dare”.

Clarke took a sip of her drink and contentedly sighed as she watched Harper struggle with whatever embarrassing truth Octavia had assigned her. She loved hanging with her friends, though truth or dare had never been her favorite game, it always made her uncomfortable somehow, but she was unable to pinpoint why; maybe she just didn’t like being so vulnerable in front of everybody. So she preferred watching from the sidelines, using her relationship with Finn as an excuse to opt-out.

***

Later that night, her, Raven, and Octavia prepped for bed. This was their tradition, every third day of the first week of school they’d get together and throw a sleepover, in honor of another year of friendship. This had happened ever since they met in second grade, on the third day of school, and had instantly become best friends. A couple of years later they started inviting other close buddies to their annual third-day reunion, but the sleepover remained only for them.

Raven extended a blanket over a passed out Octavia, who reveled in the extra warmth. “Jesus, it’s four am already, we’ll barely get any sleep”

Clarke rubbed her eyes and yawned “so much for getting to class early”

“Speaking of” Raven whispered, as to not wake Octavia “you still shooting for Yale?”

Clarke shot her an incredulous glare “of course I am, it’s always been my dream”

“I know I know, just making sure, I hadn’t heard you mention it recently”

Clarke had been dreaming of Yale ever since she was a kid, much to her father's dismay as he was Harvard alumni; yet he was always supportive of her aspirations.  
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to study medicine or political science, but she desperately wanted Yale to be the place she did it.

“yep, that’s still the plan, I'm kind of nervous though”

Raven went to lay on her back next to Clarke, who was now sandwiched between her and Octavia on the queen-sized bed. She gave her a reassuring grin “I’m sure you’ll be fine C, you’re the most capable person I know”

Clarke turned to her friend and smiled, feeling flattered. “Coming from you that means so much, thanks Ray”  
“I mean it Clarke, believe in yourself” she kissed her friend on the forehead then turned to the other side “but enough sappiness for tonight, get some sleep, night night”.

As she listened to the brunettes breathing fall into a steady rhythm and stared up at the ceiling, Clarke felt a lot more hopeful than just minutes before.

***

“...attention all senior students, please report to the gym immediately for a special assembly”

The students who were working on dissecting frogs in the biology lab let out a sigh of relief, excited chatter soon filling the classroom at the prospect of missing class.

Clarke, Raven, and Octavia gave each other questioning glances. Raven shrugged “what a shame I _truly_ enjoy picking at frogs' insides”.

Octavia snorted sarcastically “I know riiight, I’m having so much fun it’s a tragedy”

Mr. Pike, the teacher, scowled and opened his mouth to reprimand the girls for their juvenile behavior, but he was suddenly cut off by a group of boys shoving each other out the door “Gentlemen! Settle down please you're going to hurt yourselves!!”

Raven and Octavia met each other’s eyes and simultaneously let out boisterous laughter. Clarke chuckled along but hurriedly shoved her stuff in her backpack, not wanting to be late to the assembly.

She led both her friends out of the classroom when she stumbled into a cocky looking Finn.

Unhappy with the encounter, Raven took Octavia by the arm and pulled her away, mumbling something around the lines of giving them their space and not wanting to choke on a mysteriously sudden stench.

Finn confidently put his arm around his girlfriend and kissed her cheek. “hey princess, ready for the assembly?”

Clarke sagged a bit under the weight of his arm on her shoulders, but let it remain where it was. She looked up to see a confident half-grin, the same one she knew made all the girls swoon.

“Yeah, I wonder what they’ll talk about though”

“Meh it’s probably some boring introduction to senior year, telling us to do our best to get into university and blah blah blah,” he said as they followed the steady stream of students heading for the gym.

Clarke felt a flash of annoyance for her boyfriend, why couldn’t he take anything seriously? She knew he was smart, but he had no aspirations, it was a total waste.

“I’m actually kinda excited for the assembly, we're only seniors one you know” she glanced at him only to find he wasn’t really listening, he was absentmindedly looking around and smiling at random people.

Clarke sighed and kept walking in silence. They continued that way as they entered the gym and climbed the bleachers to sit with Finn's jock buddies, Clarke didn’t particularly care for them but they were Finn's friends and she knew she sometimes had to compromise, that’s just how relationships work.

They waited for the gym to fill up as students loudly filled the room. Clarke noticed Raven and Octavia sitting below her, Octavia was getting up and personal with Lincoln while Raven chatted animatedly with Monty and Jasper. Clarke smiled at herself and turned to Finn, who still had his arm wrapped around her but was looking the other way, loudly discussing last night's football game with his friends.

She felt a twinge of guilt at not being able to participate in the conversation so she went back to scanning the crowd. 

She noticed Bellamy and Miller looking bored as they sat near the edge of the bleachers. She saw Harper and Maya, their usual giddy selves, whispering and giggling to each other; talking about boys, Clarke assumed. And then someone else caught her eye. It was Lexa Woods, she was walking in the room wearing tight black leggings and an oversized turtleneck sweater, her hair loose and falling in pretty brown locks down her shoulders, on either side of her Echo and Emori followed her to their seats. Clarke wanted to go apologize for the other day at the cafeteria, but strangely she felt shy about approaching Lexa with her friends. It was weird, Clarke wasn’t a shy person.

She suddenly felt annoyed that Lexa practically had an escort wherever she went, with her friends following her all the time. Then again, she herself always went everywhere with her friends. She wondered if that’s how she looked to Lexa, not that Lexa had ever noticed her, Why would she notice her? Why was she even thinking about that?

She finally gathered her courage, untangled herself from Finn, who barely noticed her leave, and marched her way down the bleachers to where Lexa was now sitting. 

“Hi, I’m Clarke,” she said a little too loudly as if asserting herself.  
Surprised green eyes looked up at her, Echo and Emori raised their eyebrows at each other and snickered, though Clarke felt it wasn’t really directed at her.  
“I know… I mean” Lexa stuttered in a rather small voice. She forcefully cleared her throat and stood up, as if to stand the same ground as Clarke.   
“I’ve seen you around, Clarke” and she extended her hand to the blonde. “I’m Lexa”.

Clarke confidently took the brunette's hand and smiled “that I know, I’ve seen you around too”. Lexa mirrored Clarke’s smile and they stood there hand in hand staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Clarke came to her senses and broke their daze.

“Right,” she said as she let go of Lexa’s hand “ so umm… I want to apologize for the other day at the cafeteria, that was a pretty shirt and I’m sorry for ruining it”  
“Oh!” Lexa looked slightly embarrassed, judging by the tinge of red on her cheeks “oh no, don’t worry about it, actually I’m sorry for snapping at you, I wasn’t having the best of days”

“that’s fine, I guess we’re even then” unsure of what else to say, Clarke, lowered her eyes to the floor and started twiddling her thumbs.

“Okay, so umm I guess I’ll see you around then, Clarke”  
Clarke beamed, “I guess you will” and she walked away, feeling pretty cheerful and relieved about getting that out of the way.

She got back to Finn, who extended his arm inviting her into his embrace and she fell into him. “What was that about?”  
“nothing important” she replied, and though it wasn’t much of an answer Finn seemed satisfied with it.

It had been important though, Clarke felt strangely happy with the exchange. Lexa seemed so nice and she was so pretty and Clarke for some reason really wanted to be her friend. She wondered why, but couldn’t come to a logical explanation.

She shook her thoughts away and turned to the stage, where principal Kane was trying to get the microphone working and failing miserably. Clarke giggled at his struggle and eventually, Monty had to get up from his seat to help. 

When the mic finally came on, Kane thanked and dismissed Monty then proceeded to try to get the students' attention. “Attention seniors, please settle down” Kane repeated those same words a couple of times before the noise from the crowd finally died down.

“As you obviously know, you guys have finally reached senior year, congratulations!” The crowd erupted in a series of cheers and whoops. Kane gave a joyful smile. “So to start the year off we have this video prepared before we go into the important announcements, please enjoy!”

The gym lights dimmed down and a video was projected on a huge whiteboard hanging from the ceiling. Clarke watched fondly as pictures of the seniors flashed to the beat of Queens “We are the champions”.

Finn finally turned his attention back to her and started pointing to the pictures where he and his friends appeared and proudly telling her the stories behind each one; whether he and his team won the season or if he made a legendary touchdown. Clarke wasn’t really listening, she just nodded at what seemed the appropriate times, and smiled at Finn, who didn’t notice her absentminded state. She wanted to be interested but couldn’t really find it in herself to do it.

The video presentation finally ended and Finn turned back to exchanging bawdy jokes with his friends, he couldn’t be bothered with whatever Kane -who had just walked back on stage- had to say.

Kane started talking about how important it is to keep their grades up this final year to have a good GPA for university; he spoke of extracurriculars and getting good scores on the SATs. Clarke hung onto his every word.

“Unfortunately this year we’ve received news from certain universities, including Yale” he adjusted his suit “they’ll only be receiving one Arkadia High student this year due to increase in demand” This earned no response from most students, as very few aimed for Ivy League universities in the first place, but for Clarke, it was a game-changer.

“So in this case, only the top applicant will be accepted, so those of you who aspire for Yale will be competing for a single spot”

This couldn’t be happening, Clarke was dismayed. She furiously looked around trying to size up her competition, but most of her classmates were unfazed and she calmed down knowing they wouldn’t be a problem. 

“So to better assess those of you aiming for these universities please report to my office after the assembly”.

The rest of the speech went by in a blur, with Clarke’s leg bouncing up and down at an inhuman speed. When it finally ended she ran to the office, only to bump into Ontari.

“What are _you_ doing here?” The black-haired girl sneered. “you don’t seriously think you could ever get into _Yale_ , right?”

Clarke felt a surge of anger at her classmate's jab. They had never been friends, and Clarke always tried to be cordial with all her fellow students, but Ontari held a special contempt for the blonde and tried to make her life miserable as often as possible.

“Of course she can” the voice came from behind Clarke, making both the blond and raven-haired girls turn to see the owner.

It was Lexa, strutting into the office, and easily holding Ontari’s malicious glare. “I know what you’re doing Ontari, trying to psych out the competition, we’ll I’m telling you it won’t work” she stopped next to Clarke, who was curiously watching the exchange and a bit shocked at Lexa´s interference.

Ontari confidently straightened her posture “it might not with you” she nodded towards Clarke and narrowed her dark black eyes “but it’ll definitely work with _her_ ”

Both Clarke and Lexa furiously opened their mouths to reply but were interrupted by an oblivious principal Kane, who invited them into his office whenever they were ready.

Lexa huffed and gave Clarke a knowing look, before going after Kane. Clarke felt a sense of endearment at how Lexa stepped up to defend even if they weren’t really friends, followed by disappointment at the fact that they’d probably be competing against each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I know I said I’d post more regularly and then proceeded to do the exact opposite, but rest assured I fully intend on finishing this fic.  
> Anyway here’s the update, I hope you enjoy it.  
> I’ll try to post again soon, but no promises.

Had you asked principal Kane, he’d say the meeting went splendidly. He wouldn’t have noticed the awkwardness that engulfed the three girls. He wouldn’t have noticed how Ontari Frost interrupted every time one of the other two girls tried to speak. He wouldn’t have noticed Lexa Woods discreetly glancing at Ms Griffin, and he definitely wouldn’t have noticed Clarke Griffin abashedly staring at her hands the whole time.

In his mind, those three girls were the perfect candidates for such a prestigious school such as Yale, and he couldn’t be prouder that students of such caliber would be graduating from his school. He thought it a shame that only one of them would be able to attend said university, but was sure they’d excel wherever they ended up.

***

Lexa walked out of Kane’s office first, followed by Clarke and Ontari. She wanted to say something to her competitors, wish them luck or something if the sort, but decided against it as she wasn’t that big of a believer in such things. Lexa believed that what she achieved was all based on merit, who she met was circumstancial, fate was never a factor she considered in her life.

She stepped out into the hall and noticed Clarke stopped right beside her, Ontari sashayed past both girls without another word and into the hallway. Lexa didn’t know what else was left to say, but out of politeness faced the blonde.

“So listen…” Clarke bit her lip nervously, a clear sign of an internal conflict. Lexa could tell she was trying to decide whether to tell her something or not. Lexa raised her eyebrows expectantly, willing the other girl to say whatever was on her mind.

“I truly despise Ontari, she doesn't deserve to get that spot”  
Lexa nodded in agreement, her and Ontari had been at odds ever since the black-haired girl tried to sabotage her science fair project in ninth grade.

“so I was thinking maybe you and I can team up, you know, work together. I hear you struggle with bio and chem class, and I’m terrible at history so maybe we could help each other out”

Lexa considered the proposal, honestly, she wanted to work on her own, that’s how she’d always done things. But Clarke was looking at her so hopefully that Lexa just couldn’t refuse her.  
“Sure” she blurted.  
“Great” Clarke beamed and stretched out her hand “it’s a deal”

Lexa took it and that’s how for the second time that day she found herself holding this girl's hand and staring into her eyes, feeling a strange connection to her, as if they’d known each other a long time ago.

Clarke stared at their still intertwined hands and looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t get the chance because Finn Collins seemingly appeared out of nowhere and comfortably put his arm around her shoulder. 

This startled Clarke, who quickly let go of Lexa’s hand and blushed profusely, like a kid caught doing something she shouldn’t.

“Hey babe, I just came to see how your meeting went”  
Clarke looked surprised at Finn's display of attention. “Oh! umm, it was good”  
“Of course it was” he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek.  
He then turned to Lexa, who was internally debating whether to leave the couple to it or stay in case Clarke wanted to say something else.  
“Hello Lexa” Finn said in a sly voice and shot her a magazine smile.  
“Finn” she nodded politely.  
“So you’re competing against my girlfriend” he said playfully.  
“Actually!” Clarke, who had been eerily quiet, chimed in “we’re teaming up, helping each other out”  
“Cool!” He flashed his bright white teeth again, and Lexa felt suddenly very self conscious. She decided that was her cue to leave, she mumbled a goodbye but Clarke had other plans.  
“Hey Lexa wait! Are you coming to Finn’s party tomorrow?”  
Lexa tilted her head curiously “I didn’t know I was invited”  
Finn chuckled “of course you are, I thought you knew already”  
“I didn’t” she answered flatly.  
Finn eyed her attentively “well, now you know, tomorrow night at my place”

Lexa hated that for some reason everyone assumed she knew all the school gossip and events, when in truth she couldn’t care less.

A couple of awkwardly silent seconds passed before Clarke piped up “so are you coming?”  
Lexa found hopeful blue eyes staring at her expectantly. She wanted to say no, she was about to but she just stupidly nodded back instead. She couldn’t believe herself, what was it about Clarke that she just couldn’t refuse her.  
The blonde beamed, clearly happy with Lexa’s response “Great! See you tomorrow then”

With that Finn steered his girlfriend around and without another word they walked away together; Clarke turning her head to give Lexa one last shy smile before leaving.

Lexa stood there, dumbstruck, watching Clarke and Finn head in the opposite direction, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.

***

“I hope you don’t have plans tomorrow cause we’re going to a party”

They were sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria.  
Emori raised her brows, Echo looked stunned. Both remained silent, staring at their friend.

This exasperated Lexa “don’t look at me like that! What’s wrong with wanting to go to a party, we haven’t been out together in a while”

Emori looked at Lexa sympathetically “we know, it’s just… it’s been only a week from Costia”  
Lexa visibly tensed up at her ex-girlfriends name, Emori went on “and we didn’t think you’d want to put yourself out there so soon”

Lexa silently mulled over what her friend had just said. She was right in a way, It was so soon after Costia. Lexa couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at moving on from her so quickly, after all, she had been her first love.  
Then again, Costia had ended things, this was on her and Lexa shouldn’t be held back by someone who wouldn’t fight for their relationship. 

Resolute, Lexa straightened up “it’s fine, Costia may have just broken up with me, but we hadn’t even spoken in a long time, the relationship was over way before that phone call… besides, it’s not really putting myself out there, I just want to hang with you guys”  
She said it with such finality, that her friends had no choice but to move on from the subject.

“Okay” said Emori tentatively “so who’s party is it?”  
“Finn Collins”

Echo scoffed “since when are you two buddies?”

“We’re not!” Lexa said a bit too defensively, then her voice softened “Clarke invited me”. She then proceeded to absentmindedly skim her school schedule.

Emori shuffled in her seat excitedly and shared a grin with Echo.

“we should probably tell Lincoln as well”

“Nope don’t worry about it, he’s probably going with his little girlfriend” Echo didn’t bother hiding her annoyance.

Emori playfully wiggled her eyebrows “but who knows, Echo. She might even bring that cute brother of hers”

Echo groaned “he’s not even into me, he’s into Clarke Griffin who’s with Finn, it’s a never ending cycle of heartbreak”

Lexa suddenly found herself intrigued with the conversation. “Who likes Clarke Griffin?”

“Bellamy Blake” said Echo, not bothering to hide her frustration.

Lexa knew Bellamy only by sight but he was pretty hard to miss. He was tall with a lean body frame, chiseled chest, and bíceps that bulge through his sleeves. If his perfect body wasn’t enough, his face featured alluring brown eyes and a winning smile that drove girls wild, topped with a mop of dark brown curls.

The kind of guy Lexa might find attractive if she weren’t undoubtedly, a hundred percent, _absolutely gay_.

For some reason the mere thought of him liking Clarke bothered her, and she had the sudden urge to encourage her friend to pursue him.

She shot Echo her best smile “I _definitely_ think he’d like you if you dare shoot your shot”

Echo looked thrilled at her friend's advice, especially since she knew Lexa was not one to give advice on other people’s relationships or to engage in idle gossip.

“Yayyy! So this means we’re going to the party?” Emori clapped her hands, overly excited.

“Yes, we’re going to the party”

***

It was a wonderful day for Ontari, she was absolutely thrilled. Principal Kane’s announcement hadn’t stirred her in the slightest. She had that Yale spot in the bag and she knew it.

The meeting with Kane had gone just as planned, Ontari had made herself known by asserting herself as often as possible and inconspicuously blocking the other girls attempts at participating. She wanted them and the principal to know that she was someone to look out for, that she was the main contender in this race to university acceptance.

At the end of the meeting she walked straight out like she owned the place. Trying to be as intimidating as possible, which wasn’t too hard a feat for her.

She walked to her locker to withdraw her textbooks for her next class. She stood there giddy with excitement at the prospective challenge and unconsciously analyzed her competition.

Clarke Griffin, very popular artsy kind of girl. The egg-colored-haired girls’ optimism had always gotten on Ontari’s nerves. Dating Finn Collins, the school heartthrob. Who she didn’t seem too in love with -from what Ontari had perceived, and she sure as hell prided herself on being quite the observer. Being the student body president, Clarke was always surrounded by a large group of friends, but her closest were mainly Octavia Blake and Raven Reyes. They were extremely close and fiercely loyal, that could complicate things for Ontari.

She then proceeded to gauge the other side of the competition: Lexa Woods.

Lexa might present a bit more trouble, contemplated Ontari. Daughter of millionaire Titus Woods, captain of the reigning champion female soccer team, and most popular girl at Arkadia High by far, she was considered perfection at an unattainable level. She had a small pack of cronies that followed her everywhere, her life was considered the textbook definition of perfect, even despite the recent breakup drama. But Ontari was not fooled, she saw Lexa for what she really was: a heartbroken girl desperate for her fathers attention, who for the most part ignored her in favor of attending his business.

So even if both girls seemed to be tough as rocks on the exterior, Ontari knew damn well that they both had weaknesses she could exploit.

She finished gathering her stuff from the locker and shut it carelessly.

_“... competing against my girlfriend”_

Ontari recognized the voice as Finn Collins’, and  
she immediately dropped to a crouch and peeked around the corner, where she saw Finn and Clarke having an exchange with Lexa.

_“.., teaming up, helping each other out”_

What was this she was hearing about teaming up?  
She perked her ear towards the small group but the flurry of noisy students going about their activities made it impossible to make out most of the conversation.

_“... party?” “... didn’t know…” “... see you tomorrow then”_

She watched as Clarke and Finn headed towards the opposite direction and hid behind some huge jock when Lexa turned her way, walking straight past her.

So they were going to a party together? Since when were they friends or whatever? If this was a budding friendship Ontari simply couldn’t allow it.

Wheels started turning in her head and a brilliant idea popped into her head. She knew for a fact that Clarke and Lexa weren’t friends, even if she’d just had a flicker of doubt at seeing them together. What if she pitted them against each other? Then She could save some time from sabotaging them Individually and simply sit back as they did the work for her. And while they focused on the other's destruction, she would have an easy and unobstructed path towards Yale.

It was brilliant, once again Ontari was pleased but unsurprised by her sheer genius. She didn’t have the details sorted out yet, but one thing was for sure:  
She had to go to that party.


End file.
